Through Gambit's Eyes: The Legacy Virus
by I can't believe I wrote this
Summary: This is it. Almost entirely canon characters. Yup. It deals with the touchy subject of the Legacy Virus. Rated for swearing and graphic death scenes. May be a tearjerker at the end.
1. Gambit's own introduction to this tale

Hi dere. De name is Gambit. Remember it. I been holdin' dis on m' ches' f' too long. Dis...Dis is de tale of de Legacy Virus, told t'rough Gambit's eyes.  
  
Lem' jus' d'scrahb m'self fo' y'. I'm one o' dem tall dark an' han'sum men you always hurn 'bout. Got dese sexy eyes. Black sclera. Red iris. Some people, dough, t'ink Gambit's eyes a li'l scary.   
  
Trut' b' told, Gambit's a mutant. Yeah. One o' dem creations of God hated by society. M' own pars are pretty damn cool if y' t'ink 'bout it.  
  
I can take ti'ngs potential energy, an' toin it t' kinetic energy. Along wit' dat, Gambit got natural enhanced atheletic skills, he's an empath, he has a bit o' psy-pars, and he's t'inkin' dis cute face a mutation, also.  
  
Gambit, well, he lahks t' speak in t'ird person. 'Cept when he knows it's time t' get serious. Den Gambit...Well, he may crack a few more jokes den normal. Sssshhh. Ancient fam'ly secret.  
  
I only ever love two women. Truly love, not that hedonistic love, where I flirt wit' ev'ry woman I see. One o' dem, dat's none o' yall's biznis. But de odda one...Gambit can't really descrahbe de feelin's he gets when he's around her. Her name's Rogue. Don' truely know her real name. Well, ya'll don' know my own name. It's Remy. Remy Enttiene LeBeau.  
  
But Rogue....She's so beautiful. A bit scary, but all women are at one point or another, non, mes ami? She's a mutant, too. Her pars dough....She can't touch nobody. But I love a challenge. She doesn't get it. She thinks that I think of her just as a prize to be won. But she's not. She's so much more...  
  
Well, Gambit's rambling. Dis part o' de story's s'posed t' be about Gambit.  
  
Oh, damn. 'Ere comes de Professor. 'E 'spectin' dis story to be written all well an' proper-lahke. So...Gambit gon' go now, and really tell dis story. 


	2. A true intellect

Gambit here. I've been looking around the site. Hm. I don't think many people think that I can't say a sentence to a girl without saying "chere", or the like. I'll prove you all wrong. I actually spoke ths dialogue.  
  
________  
  
I never wanted to remeber that horrid disease. Yeah, that's right. The Legacy Virus. Just to hear the word "legacy" will cause mutants nowadays to get paranoid.  
  
It all started with a man named Nathaniel Essex. I have a past with him, but that story's for another time. He created it with his clone of my good friend Henry "Hank" Mcoy. Or Beast, as he's known with the X-Men. The clone was called Dark Beast.  
  
The pair worked for years, developing this virus. They finally launched it onto the world. First to catch it and die? Some mutants in Norfolk, Virginia.  
  
Then there was a Brit mutie. Called herself Revanche. Kwannon, I think her real name was. Was killed before the virus really hit home.  
  
And now, everybody, with the exception of Rogue, Logan, Ilyana, and myself, are off on some "Muir Island" place to study the cure.  
  
In case you're wondering, Ilyana is Colossus's sister. Yeah. He finally joined the X-Men.   
  
As we all know, he helped the X-Men when Apocalypse surfaced, totally tricked out. He was in the Egyptian strike force. Once they finished there, he developed a strong bond with our resident Kitty-cat.  
  
I joined after him, of course. Don't like Pyro or Creed all that much. Veeeeery scary people.  
  
Know who else joined? Kurt's girlfriend. Yeah. Amanda Sefton. Imagine that. Her. A mutant.  
  
Guess who else joined? Angel! Yeah. Ya kinda figured he would join eventually. And he did, after the battle with Apocalypse.  
  
All of the X-Men are a little jumpy when you mention the word "Apocalypse". Especially Ororo, Charles, Logan, and Warren. Once the prof used his mental powers to break himself and Storm loose from Apocalypse, big, blue, and crazy took on Wolverine and Angel as replacements. I don't think Warren'll ever be the same.  
  
You see, we can't find a way to fully kill Apoc, but we can put him into hibernation until we do. After we did that, a group called The Marauders attacked the Morlocks. They left no one alive save Callisto and Spyke. That's it. But they just about killed the X-Men, too.  
  
In the battle, a Marauder named Harpoon pinned Angel's wings to the tunnel walls. After, the damage was so severe that his wings had to be amputated. Without them, Angel fell into a slump. Eventually, he tried to commit suicide by taking his "last ride" in a helicopter. He intended the chopper to explode and take him along with it, but before the damage was truly done, Apoc teleported him away.  
  
When he did that, he replaced Angel's wings with metal ones. They were a special bio-metal. Not at all like Colossus and his organic steel, though. But the bacteria in the bio-metal turned Warren into Apoc's slave, and turned the high-flyer's skin a strange blue.  
  
The wings also reacted to his emotions. When angry, the wings spread out over twenty feet and would shoot out poison-tipped barbs. It was really hard for him to control it.  
  
I'm done rambling. So....on with the tail, non?  
  
Rogue and I were sitting around watching t.v. when we saw a newsflash. Apparently, Ma Cherie's principal was gonna run for state governor.  
  
"A waste of votes, if you ask me," Rogue spat.   
  
Of course, like I said before, this is a somewhat formal paper for Charles, so I can't fully spell out our cute and quaint little colloquialisms and accents. You understand, I hope.  
  
"Now, now, my little ice princess. Don't get all angry. I ain't gonna vote for him," I said.   
  
I traced a gloved finger across her cheek. She caught ahold of my hand.  
  
"Don't get too friendly, there, Gambit."  
  
"Why, whatever do you mean, Mon Cherie Amour?" I asked.  
  
"Knock it off, kids."  
  
We both turned around to see the squalid form of the angry Canadian known to most as Logan.  
  
"Why, whatever do you mean, mon ami?"  
  
"Shut up, Gumbo. Rogue, go and get Ilyana. Go play with her or something. She thinks these institute kids don't like her. Go!" Logan ordered.  
  
Rogue nodded and headed upstairs. I figured that I might as well join her.  
  
"Hey, girlie. What's up?" I asked Ilyana.  
  
The girl was obviously smitten with my devilish good looks and charming debonair. Or not...I believe the immortal words of Carly Simon and Janet Jackson apply here. What was it again? Oh yes, "You're so vain". Myself in a nutshell.  
  
"Yeah, what's up, Lilypad?" Rogue asked.  
  
Where that girl got "Lilypad" from "Ilyana" is beyond me. I still like Piotr's name for her: Little Snowflake. I just call her "flaky". Oh well.  
  
Ever since that little tizzy with Apocalypse, Rogue had been getting a little soft. I guess...it was just the first bit of actual battle she ever saw. I really feel sorry for her. But I grew up faster then she. Pardon my language, I went through Hell and back as one of the Thieve's Guild kids.  
  
Anyway, the kid and Rogue seemed to get along fine. Time to mess with them.  
  
"So, Flaky-"  
  
"Ilyana!"  
  
"Right....So, Flaky, where you from?"  
  
Ilyana just sort of gave me a "you've got to be kidding me" look. Rogue slapped me on the back of my head.  
  
"Russia, you dumbshit!"  
  
The hit rang my bell a bit, and sent some stuff in my pockets go deeper. A bit of a sidebar, casually, I just wear a black tee, and some baggy jeans, deep pockets. The Bo staff I always keep in my pocket out of sheer paranoia, slipped a bit further to the side, making a noticeable bulge in the...zipper area.  
  
Rogue stared for a minute, then pointed.  
  
"G-Gambit?"  
  
"Yeah, chere?"  
  
She motioned down, and I saw what she was pointing at.  
  
"Oh! Bo Staff. No prob."  
  
I pulled it out just to show her. They both breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"So girls...Wanna go out to eat?" I asked them.  
  
They looked at each other, then nodded.  
  
***  
  
I rented out half of a restaraunt for us. "Why?" you ask? Cuz Gambit got it like that. Sorry, that was wrong.  
  
Anyway, we were dining on our lovely food, when two blondes, a man and a girl, walked in through the door and back into my life..... 


	3. The Big Fight Scene

"Oh, shit..." I sad slowly.  
  
Rogue and Ilyana looked at me and warned me of my language.  
  
"Belladonna and Julien Boudraeux. Figured I'd meet up with you again. So Belle, how are you doing these days?" I asked the blond girl.  
  
"M pa pi mal, mesi." She said abruptly.  
  
Speaking Creole. Damned if I never learned to speak it. But I had learned a bit, since Belle liked to speak it to...."t" me off. She said "I'm fine thank you".  
  
"That's Creole, LeBeau, the language of a true Cajun man." Julien said, putting an incredible southern strain on the word "man.  
  
"M kontan anpil rekonet ou." Belle said.  
  
"Belle, you certainly know how to get on a man's bad side," I spat.  
  
"M pa konprann, Remy Ettiene! You have really changed. No longer carefree, eh, ma chere?" Belle reprimanded.  
  
"Don't call me 'chere'. I'm not your 'darling'. Rogue, Ilyana, go home. Tell the others that I'll be home in a few hours. Everybody, leave your name, address, and phone number with this fine lady here" I pointed to Rogue, "and we'll call you with a complete reimbursment."  
  
Everybody rushed out, leaving Julien, Belle, and myself. I reached into my pocket and fingered a huge peice of lead that I always carried. It was for fights, so that my fist would be more weighted.  
  
****  
  
Hold on, we gotta rewind a bit, here.  
  
As most of you know, I grew up in New Orleans, in a group called Fagan's Mob. Stolen from the hospital by Antiquiary (sp?). Le Diable Blanc, they called me. The White Devil.  
  
Anyway, after my "father" arranged this little meeting between us, I was accepted with my foster brother, Henri, into the New Orleans Theives Guild.  
  
Now, pay attention, because this is where it gets complicated.  
  
He even arranged my meeting with Belladonna, a member of the Assasin's Guild, our own rival. We were to fall in love, and end the Guild war.  
  
Weeeeeeell, skip-skip-skip, I sort of....blow up the altar at the wedding, and get the, pardon my language, fuck out of Dodge.  
  
Fast-forward, I'm working with Maggie.  
  
Fast-forward again, Apoc is gone, I'm with the X-Men, bing-bango, we're at the present.  
  
******  
  
"Who's gonna start the party, LeBeau? You...or me?" Julien asked.  
  
"Me!"  
  
My weighted fist connected to Julien's jaw, and I heard a loud crack. His hand shot up to his mandible immediately, leving him wide open.  
  
"Expected more from an assasin, Julie," I said.  
  
"Fuck...fuck off, mon ami..." He whimpered.  
  
A look of fury passed over my face. The staff whipped out of my pocket, half extended. I put one end to the top of his skull.  
  
"I am no friend of yours. Every bit of me tells me I should shove this through your sad excuse for a glass-jawed skull, but that would be too quick for an assasin," I raged.  
  
Instead of following my gut, I placed the helf-extended tip to his shoulder, and let it fly. He screamed from the pain of the thick metal going through his collarbone, and even deeper into his flesh and body.  
  
Belle was horrified.  
  
With Julien on his stomach, I stomped on his back, and there was a loud crack. His back was broken. Never to walk again.  
  
I grabbed Belladonna by the collar of her blouse and pulled her face to mine.  
  
"I am not a Theif, or an Assasin. I don't follow by our Guild bylaws. Because I'm an X-Man, chere, and I'm never comin' back...." I let go.  
  
Belle burst into tears and clutched onto my trench.  
  
"REMY! Tanpri! Tanpri! Please! Come home with me! Don't leave me, chere! DON'T LEAVE ME!"  
  
I pushed her away with disgust. Then I pointed to her brother.  
  
"Don't beg, chere. You never were good at it. Now take your lifeless excuse for a brother and leave my sight," I hissed.  
  
She nodded and picked up her brother. Then she turned to me, "wrath of Belle" written all over her face. From inside of her blouse, she pulled a knife, and threw it at me, lightning fast. It his me in the chest, so close to my heart that they cold metal touched it.  
  
I gripped the knife with my free left hand, and then looked at her with pain in my eyes.  
  
"I thought you remembered, chere. An assasin always come prepared..." She whispered, trailing her right index finger across my cheek, and then stepped back, gave a cute little wave, and blew a kiss to me.  
  
I staggered a bit, then fell flat on my back. The host was standing behind the counter when I called him over. I pulled out Xavier's card with the school number. I weakly pointed to it.  
  
"Call....call here, and tell them Gambit needs help...." I said faintly.  
  
The host nodded, and then the world went black. 


	4. A fine little interlude with Sean Cassid...

OK, guys, this is the author, not Gambit. Wut Sean speaks isn't actually Scottish, but Irish. But I think we can let that one slide because A) It's probably Gaelic, and B) A Banshee is an Irish beastie. C) Sean Cassidy is and Irish name.  
  
__________________________  
  
I woke up in in the infirmary at Xavier's school, to the sweet sound that is Rogue's voice. Apparently, she was praying....  
  
"Please, God, don't take Remy away from me. He's the best thing to happen to me since I moved in with these intstitute kids. I love him more than life itself, so please, Lord, do me this one favour..."  
  
"Been worried, chere?"  
  
She turned around to see my catatonic form.  
  
"Remy...I-I didn't see you there!"  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
Her right hand came down firmly onto my unprotected head.  
  
"I deserved that..."  
  
"You sure did! What possesed you to fight them like that?! The professor talked to the host! You might've killed that blonde guy! What the hell made you do that?! What is your beef with them?!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, because it doesn't concern you...Whoa...What's Jamie doing over there?" I asked, looking to the right.  
  
Little Jamie Madrox was lying in a bed, out like a light.  
  
"Kid got the Legacy Virus in Scotland. Sean and Moira are here, too. But they're fine."  
  
A blonde walked into the room.  
  
"Heard my name mentioned. Dia dhuit ar maidin. Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? My name's Sean Cassidy, or Banshee." He said.  
  
I shook his out stretched hand.  
  
"Firm grip, lad. I like that in a man. Oh, and little Jamie. An bhfuil biseach ort?" he asked the kid.  
  
"Fine, mister Cassidy."  
  
"See, Rem, while you were in the sleepy-time express train, Xavier taught the rest of us Irish by first taking all the Irish Sean knows and copying it to our own brains through his mind-magic," said Tabitha, who had just entered as well.  
  
"True, true. Anyway, I just wanted to check up on the kid. So, kids, Bíodh lá maith agat!" Sean said, waving happily.  
  
"You doing okay, Jamie?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Fine. Been better, been worse, you know?" he said. I laughed, for his sake. Kid didn't know how bad he really was.  
  
I looked back over to Rogue.  
  
"Mon cheri amour?"  
  
"Yes, Rem?"  
  
"There's one thing bothering me. By all rights, I should be deader than a snowman in July, and I'm talking CNN cover story dead."  
  
Rogue scratched her head.  
  
"You're right. You should be dead. Forge came up with some kind of techno geek thing. Take a peice of a mutant's flesh, and, without boring techno-babble, turns it into energy, then puts that power into another mutant until the need for it is gone. In your case, we got a bit of Mr. Logan and his healing powers stayed in you until your wounds healed."  
  
"If that Forge idiot can make that, how come he can't make you a power surpressor?" I asked her.  
  
She shrugged.  
  
"It's not like he hasn't tried, though, you know? He's still trying, but he just can't seem to get it right.... And, I can't beleive I'm telling you this, but Mr. Mcoy will bring you pain pills every three hours. They're really strong, and he's due in here any minute, so I'll leave now. I don't wanna see how loopy you'll get."  
  
Hank brought the pills down for myself and Jamie. I popped mine down, as did the kid, and yelped out.  
  
"Whoo, Henri! These are strong ones!" I said. I could feel the haze swiping over me....  
  
"There's a monkey in my pants, and he likes to play the accordian........" 


	5. A bit of angst near the end on Gambit's ...

Hey guys, asterisks (*) mean italics. I'm writing on Wordpad, god knows why.  
  
______________  
  
I was out of the hospital wing in a week. In three hours, I'll be damned if I wasn't training again. With Magneto this time (see ascention pt. 2). Him, Scott, Logan, Piotr and a few of the X-Babies. I stole the term from Kitty. Probably could've expected that. I don't thing I have one thing that I own that I bought myself. After that session, thought I'd go and watch my favorite movie. Hard Target (actual comic fact). No such luck.  
  
Hell, when I got done with Maggie, I had some sessions in the Danger Room. Set for a team of five mutants. Hey, Kitty, if you're reading this, real fucking funny ya little Chicago Valley Girl midget! I think Petey had something to do with it too....  
  
Yup. I beat that session, too. Alone. I'm soooooo good. Yeah, I could kick Logan's ass.  
  
Anyway, I was sitting around, talking to Amara when the doorbell rings. I went to answer it, and who should show up? Why, none other than everybody's favorite lunatic, St. John Allerdyce! Yay! Hell no it's not a "yay", stupids. This is Pyro we're talking about here.  
  
"Allerdyce."  
  
"Whatever your name is..."  
  
Once we had called each other's names in classic Western style, he slumped into the door.  
  
***  
  
"Oh, shit. What is it, Henri?" I asked Hank.  
  
We were on the other side of a two-way mirror, watching Pyro.  
  
"Stage three of the Legacy Virus. I'd only give him three months at the most, two weeka at the least. I'm sorry, Remy," Hank said, putting a large hand on my shoulder.  
  
I looked out into space, and slammed my fist onto the desk.  
  
"God *damnit*! It's not like he was my friend....aw, hell, enough macho-man. He was practically my best friend. And he's lying there in a fucking hospital bed, and I can't fucking help him! Son of a motherfucking bitch!" I yelled, picking up a chair and throwing it.  
  
"Please calm down, Remy, and watch your language," Hank ordered.  
  
"No! Fuck this! I gotta go blow off some goddamn steam. Maybe then this fucking anger'll blow over. Here's hoping..."  
  
My hands were thrown up into the air, and I walked away, leaving poor Pyro there, stiff, unmoving, all those tubes inside of him. It was so unnerving. The happy and carefree pyromaniac, lying there, probably at his deathbed. It tore me apart. 


	6. Depressing moments in XMen history

Let's just get this clear that if they die in the story, they died in the comix.  
  
_____  
  
He looked so bizzare lying there without any of his usual Pyro-garb. Just lying there in the bed with a white tee and a pair of gray sweatpants. He grabbed the collar of my face and pulled it close to his.  
  
"Get me outa here, Gambit. I can't stay cooped up like this. Not anymore. I'm getting restless. If you don't get me out, then I'll find a way out, and we don't want that, because, as we all know, I'm a fucking loony."  
  
I nodded in understanding, then turned and left.  
  
"Professor Xavier, we gotta let Pyro go," I said to Charles.  
  
"He has contracted the Legacy Virus. It's best that he stays here for treatment," he replied.  
  
"You don't understand! He's a free spirit! You can't keep him stuffed up in that med lab like some sort of guinea pig! You only keep him here to study him!"  
  
"Mr. LeBeau, he's almost at Stage Four! He'll die soon! We must keep him here! There is no alternative! Have you not noticed the lesions all over his skin? The extreme fever of almost 109?! He's lucky that he's a mutant, and our genes aide us a bit! Since these two contractions, we've been able to track down others with the disease by adding some of the diseased tissue from the two victims to Cerebro's memory banks. From what we know now, someone calling himself Maverick has caught it, and, apparantly, he was part of the Weapon X project. Wolverine knows him," Charles paused.   
  
"Wait, I sensed something. From the hospital wing. Let's go." Xavier said.  
  
When we got up there, the window was open, the curtains flailing around in the mid-November winds. Pyro's bed was empty, and it was turned to a news program on his personal television.  
  
"Back to our, discussion, Principal Edward Kelly of Bayville Highschool will be discussing his poliocies for governor tomorrow at the debate. Among them is the controversial Mutant Registration Act, wherein mutants must register themselves with the state...."  
  
"Oh shit..." I breathed.  
  
I heard a moaning and looked over to find little Jamie writhing in pain. Immediately Hank and Xavier bounded to his side. Hank pulled out some sort of machine, I'm assuming it was a pocket Cerebro Charles'd given all of the adults save me, and waved it around the boy.  
  
"Charles, we didn't factor in young Jamie's youth. It seems that it has caused him to skip Stage Four and it's skin lesions, and has gone straight to Stage Five. His powers spiral out of control, erupting in a massive force, ending with death..." Hank said, barely above a whisper.  
  
I grabbed his hand and he grabbed mine.  
  
"You alright little buddy?"  
  
"N-no...Mr. LeBeau..."  
  
"It's Remy, kid. Just call me that from now on, kay?"  
  
"I-I don't think that there'll be a 'now on', Remy..."  
  
I squeezed tighter.  
  
"Fight it, kid! Fight it! Don't die out on me, don't you dare die on me!"  
  
"I'm so tired, Remy. I don't feel like fighting anymore."  
  
I lowered my head, and brought it to his ear.  
  
"Then....Then take a rest kid. You've had enough. Just take a rest," I whipered.  
  
He nodded, a tear rolling down each eye. They suddenly opened with shock.  
  
"Help me...."  
  
His body glowed with a white light, then a thousand multiples shot out of his body, crowding the room, and then they all flew back at him, and with his last breath he uttered "Goodbye, Remy" and when the clones impacted, it flung his last bit of breath from him. His body was limp and still, and his hand cold. I turned and left, wiping tears from my eyes, making sure nobody saw me.  
  
I went downstairs to check out what the others were up to. Pete was in his room painting, and Scott and Jean were doing something that Xavier asked. Everybody else was at school. I decided Pete was the better person to talk to.  
  
"Hey, Pete!"  
  
"What?!" came the deep Russian-accented voice.  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
"The door is locked."  
  
"I understand, but can I come in?"  
  
"Nyet."  
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
"Nyet."  
  
"Not being able to speak Russian, I'll assume that's a 'yes', and come in my own way...."  
  
"Hold on! Let me get the door myself."  
  
There was a click, and the large wooden door swung open. I stepped into Piotr's room, after him, of course. After sitting down on his bed, I broke the news to him.  
  
"It's a sad day today, big guy. Little Jamie Madrox has just died from the Legacy Virus."  
  
Piotr had a look of pure shock upon his face. It was a mix of disgust, anguish, and that look that you get when you get punched in the stomach reeeeeally hard.  
  
"I know how you feel, big guy. I really do."  
  
I patted him on his shoulder, got up, and left. First place I went to was the garage. Had to blow off some steam. This involved my motercycle and a bar. Hell, it was only 10:30 a.m., so why the hell not?  
  
"Aw, hell yeah."  
  
That Harley purred like a kitten, and off we went.  
  
***  
  
The bar was dead, so it was easy enough to get a drink. Nobody crowding my way. Must of had at least three bottles of Tequila. Don't know why. Hell. I just got myself in trouble, I do beleive. I hope Profex disregards this part. Ended driving home. Don't know how I did that, either.  
  
After a short little nap, I ambled down the stairs to find Jean and Scott. When I did, they working in the basement with Ororo and Hank, apparently making new uniforms for the team. Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ with a Crutch, those outfits were ugly. How Xavier let them do something like that is beyond me. A little description: They were all an extremely unflattering and neon bright yellow and blue. I need to say it again: Jesus Christ, those uniforms were ugly.  
  
"I'm not wearing those," I said aprehensively.  
  
"Like heck you aren't, Gambit. The entire team is wearing these uniforms. Moira Mctaggart designed these," Scott chided.  
  
"I wouldn't give a fuck if Versace designed it, you ain't making this Cajun wear something uglier than sin!"  
  
"Language, Mr. LeBeau," Hank warned.  
  
"Anyway, it's not like what you're wearing now is any better," Jean said.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Look at you. That stupid vest. Those horrid peices of leg armour. That bizzare belt; who do you think you are? Batman?"  
  
"Hey, this vest was handmade by my Tante Mattie down in the Bayou. And without that belt, you'd be dead. We both know that the stuff in here has saved your life countless times. At least you didn't say anything about the headdress and my coat."  
  
"Of course not. Those make you look dead sexy. Plus those eyes. That smirk. Oh, it's enough to make a girl melt," Jean said.  
  
"Remind me to drop a truck on Gambit," Scott said.  
  
"Cyclops..." Hank started.  
  
"A big truck."  
  
"Cyclops."  
  
"A really big truck."  
  
"Cyclops!" we all shouted.  
  
"Well, Gambit, yours is the first one we did," Ororo said softly.  
  
"Oh, goody."  
  
The uniform was very form-fitting. It seemed to adapt to my body temperature, making it very comfortable, heat and air wise. I wanted to see just how form-fitting the fabric was, so I lifted a peice waaaay up, and then let go.  
  
"Oh, SHIT!"  
  
Everybody else was laughing, and Ororo managed to choke something out.  
  
"Language...a-hahahahahahehehehehhehehehehehehehahahahahahah!"  
  
When I took the suit off, there was a yard-long red mark running up and down my arm.  
  
Rogue eventually got home, with some sort of project for some sort of class. Didn't learn until I had broken it that I was being used as a guinea pig.  
  
We were sitting around, when Rogue pulled out a bell like you use at the hotel to get a bellhop, and put it onto the table. Every five minutes, she would ring it. Then, it became every two minutes, then every thirty seconds, and then it became frantic and unpredictable, to the point that I flung it across the room and accidentally blew it up with my powers.  
  
"Whoops."  
  
The afternoon slowly progressed from there. We had dinner (steak), went to train, watched a movie as a "family", and went to bed.  
  
The next day we were all awoken and made to put on the new uniforms. Turns out we were going to that press meeting about Kelly's little Registration act. The kids were getting out of school, so they didn't really care, but the adults (Charles, Logan, Hank, Ororo, and Warren {Erik stayed home to watch the mansion and the very young students}) and the full-time Xavier students (Myself, Jean, Scott, and Piotr) did.  
  
Everybody was there. Even some geeky little nerd-kid named Peter Parker taking pictures. The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and even Mr. Bruce Banner attended. I looked over in the corner and saw Lance, Todd, Fredd, and Pietro along with none other than Pyro, Acolyte uniform and all. Mystique was nowhere to be found. Pyro waved a sign meaning "don't tell anyone". I silently nodded.  
  
"Mutants," Kelly began, "Are a plague among our people, the normal human beings. I beleive that there should be a mutant registration so that we can keep track of them. Let us not forget the new disease spreading among them. The Legacy Virus. Could it not affect humans as well -- Oh, no. Not again." He pinched the bridge of his nose.  
  
The ground beneath our feet rumbled, and for a moment we lost our balance. A large table flew from two very larg hands and straight at the guards. With them down, a long, slimy green tongue lashed out, and grabbed their guns, throwing them to a woman in the audience, and one to a silver blur.  
  
A red flash slammed into Kelly, getting him out of harm's way. Six guns worth of bullets, all meant for Kelly, nailed Pyro. The Aussie's body racked and spasmed from the colossal amount of bullets. Blood flew from the bullet holes, splattering everybody within proximity, as well as the walls.  
  
"Pyro!" Mystique cried.  
  
"Johnny!" Fred yelled.  
  
"St. Johnathan!" Piotr called out fruitlessly.  
  
"Nooooooo!" I screamed.  
  
Kelly grabbed his saviour by the shoulders and hauled him up.  
  
"Why, son? Why?"  
  
"Well, sir, I wanted you to see that not all mutants are so bad. So remeber me as a sign that there are good mutants, but there are bad ones, too. I know. I used to be one. So don't be quick to judge and persecute us all..." Pyro's head flopped to the side, his eyes glazed over. He was dead.  
  
I ran over to him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.  
  
"Wake up, Pyro! This isn't funny! Come on, wake up!"  
  
The adults pulled me away from him. As soon as they let go, I charged Kelly.  
  
"It's your fault, you bastard! You're the reason why Pyro's dead! If it wasn't for you motherfucking 'mutant registration act', the Goddamned Brotherhood wouldn't have attacked! It's all your fucking fault, asshole! come back here! Don't cringe away, you little prick!"  
  
It took all of the representatives of the Institute to haul me off of Kelly, plus some of the Brotherhood and the Fantastic Four. Rogue eventually had to plant a kiss on my cheek to calm me down. In my last bout of consciousness, I observed this:  
  
Xavier shook his head and talked at his commlink watch. He turned the video screen on and contacted Erik.  
  
"I saw what happened, Charles."  
  
"The day couldn't get any worse."  
  
"Yes it could, old friend, and it just has. Illyana has come down with, as my mini Cerebro detects it, the Legacy Virus....." 


	7. Memories

A tidbit from the last chapter: I bet you didn't know Gambit wore those horrible blue and yellow uniforms, did ya?  
  
__________________  
  
"Pyro's dead and it's all my fault."  
  
I had repeated that to myself for days on end. I'd locked myself in my room, and set up mental blocks so none of the telepaths could probe my mind. I fell into a slump. Big Pete did, too, seeing as how his Little Snowflake had come down with the fatal disease of the scourge of the Earth. Dramatic, aren't I?  
  
Hell, I deserve to be this cynical. My best friend, my brother, and another very close friend have all died on me within a two-year period. Watched them all die. Live. In person.  
  
My former girlfriend. Sabretooth dangled her and Henri from above the Eiffel Tower. Could only save one. Blood is thicker than water.  
  
My brother, Henri, was killed by Julien himself. One reason for my mass grudge. I watched that cold-blooded bastard shoot that bullet into Henri's forehead. I just about killed him that day. Took most of the active Thieves Guild to hold me back.  
  
Pyro...Well, you all know his story.  
  
By all rights, I should be nothing more than a quivering mass of tears. But tears don't bring back the dead. I should know. I've seen a lot of death in my 20 years. Especially living with Fagan's Mob.  
  
Rogue finally convinced me to go out and have some kind of fun. I ended up taking Red and Scooter with me to a club. A grunge club. Very fun. Chaos ensued. Very funny to see that preppy couple dressed grungy. Also managed to loosen Scott up to the point that he'd drink. At eighteen.   
  
I gave Scooter a pair of old ripped and faded jeans and a black tee. As for Jean, I made her raid Rogue's closet.   
  
Scott actually got into a fight with some crazy kid with dingy, dirty blonde hair. He was wearing the Nirvana smiley shirt, a denim vest, a flannel shirt around the waist, and jeans so ripped up that they could have been shorts. Surprisingly, Scott can hold his own in a bar fight. Go figure.  
  
I laughed at that club for the first time in weeks. It all ended when the roof caved in and a magenta-coloured hand reached in. The music cut out almost immediately.  
  
"Sentinels!" Scott said in surprise.  
  
"Fuck," I said under my breath.  
  
I reached into my trench coat pocket and pulled out my handy little deck of cards. I thought back to when I kidnapped Rogue and we were on that train  
  
(flashback to Cajun Spice)  
  
The beautiful girl with the white-streaked hair stares and the handsome Cajun man before her, playing a game of solitaire. The girl can do nothing, as she is bound hand and foot.  
  
"What is it with you and cards, anyway?" she asks him, from beneath a warm blanket.  
  
"Hm? Oh. It's like fifty-two explosives tucked away in one little box. I always save this one for last," he said, holding up the purple-backed playing card.  
  
"The queen of hearts?" the girl inquires  
  
He then kisses the card.  
  
"My lucky lady...She's gotten me out of a lot of jams."  
  
"Then I need a deck of those..." the girl says apathetically.  
  
(end)  
  
I lit up about six of them, and let the cards fly, hitting the Sentinel in the arm. Didn't quite work out. Cyclops threw off his grunge apparel, revealing the blue and yellow X-uniform. I figured I might as well, too.  
  
"Gambit, look out!"  
  
A coiling metal tentacle slammed hard into the ground beside me. I grabbed on as it recoiled into the Sentinel's chest. Once inside, I took off my boots. Then I spread out my limbs, touching the cold circuitry. My eyes began to glow dark red with the increasing power that I was using, charging things with my hands and feet. I began to sweat from the exhaustion, only to be cooled down by Moira's suit. Soon, the Sentinel began to glow a bright electrical orange, and I got out of there.  
  
We evacuated the entire club, and then ran away ourselves. That thing blew to pieces. Magenta shrapnel flying about and such. We leaned against Scott's car, panting.  
  
"Who....who reinstated the Sentinel program?!" Scott said aloud.  
  
"Hell if I know, mon ami," I said.  
  
I could hear my heart thud in my chest. I was pretty sure Jean and Scott could, too. They loaded into Scott's car, and I took off on my motorcycle. Jean drove, even though Scott took one sip of Bud. As fate would have it, he doesn't like the taste.  
  
"Why do you kids smell like alcohol?" Logan asked us.  
  
"Excusez-moi. Je suis désolé, mon ami, but that is a question for another time," I answered him.  
  
"Professor, a Sentinel attacked us at the club. We destroyed it, but we have no idea who reinstated the program," Scott said.  
  
It was then that I ducked out and headed away. I ran into Rogue and hugged her, glad to see a familiar face after such a shock.  
  
"Rogue, Mon Cheri' Amour, Est-ce que tout va bien?" I asked her.  
  
She just sort of shrugged. I knew she didn't understand.  
  
"What's wrong with you? You look shaken up," she told me.  
  
"Nothing, cher', nothing. I'm just gonna go back to my room and hit the hay, mmkay?"  
  
She looked a little weird about it, but agreed.  
  
I sat there on my bed, deep in thought. Thinking back to when Xavier first approached me living on the streets of New Orleans, only fourteen (made up), and trying to pass off my powers as magic tricks, collecting money. Yeah, by then, I had left Jean-Luc. At the time, I was looking for a little girl who had wandered herself into my custody. We'd been through a lot, and eventually she made it away from me. Xavier confronted me in an alley.  
  
(AN: This is a flashback to a completely different comic series. Ultimate X-Men. Issue 14. Also, this flashback is not in 3rd person, and is written in colloquialism)  
  
The handicapped bald man was accompanied by a young, curvaceous, white-haired African beauty. Damn, she was hot. That leather hugged her in all the right places.... He approached me.  
  
"I've seen your gifts. You could come and live myself and young Ororo at the Charles Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters," he told me.  
  
"Laissez le bon temp rouler," I told him, meaning "let the good times roll".  
  
"You would be with others like you. You'd have hot food, a warm bed--"  
  
"An' mebbe a late night visit or two when ev'rybody else be sleepin?" I asked rudely, insinuating rape.  
  
The "Ororo" woman seemed furious.  
  
"It is nothing like that! How dare you?!" she yelled at me.  
  
From the inside of his suit jacket, he took out a business card and threw it to me. I grabbed as he spoke to me.  
  
"Don't lose the card."  
  
"I make no promises. Cards--dey have a way of disappearin' on me, mon frere."  
  
(End)  
  
I thought to myself, reminiscing at my foolish and impudent youth.  
  
(Flash-forward six years from flashback, to some period of time in Evo when Gambit joins)  
  
"I guess the card didn't disappear, eh, Gambit?"  
  
"Guess not, homme."  
  
"See you've gotten rid of that ratty old trench coat."  
  
I looked down. He was right. My old one was worn and threadbare. This was a new one, issued to me by Magneto himself. He said that he had somehow tempered steel into a light-weight cloth. Perfect armour {not an actual fact, just something I made up}.  
  
"Dressed in the fashion of your Thieves Guild, eh, Mr. LeBeau?"  
  
I smiled at the old man's recognition. He pointed to my hair.  
  
"Clean cut?" he asked.  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Yes. Well, what is this little skid mark you have growing out of your chin?" Xavier asked me.  
  
I blushed and licked my dry lips, turning my head, biting my lower lip.  
  
"De gals like it..."  
  
He chuckled.  
  
"So, Profex, I gotta axe ya. Could you perhaps give a bit of free room and board? Would inspire me to get a job and get my own room and board, heck, mebbe ev'n a house!"  
  
"Yes, Mr. LeBeau, and while we are at it, why not give elephants hats? Mayhap it would make them desire to wear jackets and trousers?"  
  
"Be-because dat's silly? Oh...."  
  
Xavier nodded.  
  
"Now, now my boy. you know that there is always room here."  
  
I breathed a sigh of releif at his joking.  
  
"T'anks, mon frere."  
  
(end)  
  
I laughed at th memories. It was nice to laugh in such times of sorrow. 


	8. Attack

I was lounging around the mansion when I looked out the window. The man approaching looked like one of Rogue's friends. Blond hair. Spiked bracelets. And what looked like...A blouse.  
  
He came a-knocking at the door, and being the handsome and polite Cajun man I am, I answered the door.  
  
"Bonjour," I said.  
  
"Hello, the name's Lucas. I'm looking for Professor Charles Xavier," he replied, with a heavy Irish brogue.  
  
"Right this way, mon ami."  
  
I led him to the good professor's office. As soon as Chuck saw him, though, his face contorted into fear and shock.  
  
"Good to see you again, Dear ole Dad," he said, putting emphasis on the word "dad".  
  
"How did you get in?!"  
  
He pointed a thumb my way.  
  
"This fool let me in. And now it's time for you to pay!"  
  
Flames encircled him.  
  
"Stop this at once, Lucas!"  
  
"The name's Legion, old man!"  
  
I ran out of the room as fast as I could, running smack into Scott and Jean.  
  
"The professor needs our help!"  
  
They beat me to the office.  
  
"Lucas!"  
  
"Oh, look. It's the pretty young red-headed lass. Now, look, I'm here to offer advice. Go back and see Moira on Muir Isle. She's found something key in the study for the Legacy Virus."  
  
With that, he vanished, leaving behind only echoing villainous laughter.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Before we left, something began to beep. We checked Cerebro and saw that it was the Virus monitor. Someone within 15 miles of the Institute. It was coming from the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House. Lance Alvers contracted the Legacy Virus. Another beeping occurred. It was about Ilyana. She had hit Stage Four.  
  
"Merde..." I breathed.  
  
"Damn it!" Scott said, slamming a fist on the control panel.  
  
An alarm sounded, but not from the Virus monitor. It was security.  
  
"What the hell?" I asked under my breath.  
  
I brought up all of the cameras. In each one was a group of Aryan males. Blonde hair, blue eyes.  
  
"Fuck! I cannot *deal* with this now!"  
  
"What is it, Gambit?" Jean asked me.  
  
"Nothing, cher'. Blinkie!" I called out.  
  
Scott walked over.  
  
"What is it, Card-Man?"  
  
"Do you have any sort of plan of action?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Good. That means I'm in charge."  
  
He opened his mouth in protest, but I stopped him.  
  
"No, Scooter. Listen. First call up Warren. You, Jean, the adults-save Logan, Kurt, Amanda, and Rogue go to Muir Island. Kitty, Piotr-"  
  
"They're on a date."  
  
"Don't interrupt me, mon ami. Go get them. They should've taken commlinks. Anyway, them and Bobby go to the Boarding House. Tell them not to return for at least an hour. Myself and Logan will stay here. Now go!"  
  
Scott nodded and took off with Jean.  
  
"Wolverine!"  
  
"Yeah?" he said, the voice full of static.  
  
"Damn, they've fucked up our wiring... Meet me in the War Room, ASAP. It's urgent."  
  
"On my way."  
  
He arrived in full uniform. His old one. Guess he hated the new ones as much as I did.  
  
"Wolverine, go to the control spire in the Danger Room. Wait until I come in. Then, with no protest, set it for a team of 15. Lethal."  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"Don't ask questions now. Please don't. I really need your cooperation on this, mon frere."  
  
Logan nodded, and I left the room.  
  
I put on my Moira uniform on first, for the temperature control. Over that, was a blue neck shield with black-painted webbing; it protected my chest as well. Over my torso, I put a magenta-pink piece of armour that matched the contours of my body perfectly. I then put on black, skin-tight pants. On each leg was 13 magenta bars. Then were the boots/ leg armour I wore when I first joined Magneto. Finally, the piece de resistance: my trench coat.   
  
I stepped out to the front lawn.  
  
"Come and get me, boys!"  
  
An all-too-familiar hiss came from beside me.  
  
"Bold move, Remy."  
  
I pulled out my Bo staff. It had small single-projectile launchers on each tip. I charged one of them and fired it at the voice. The face came from the shadows, eyes wide, mouth agape. The glowing dart was in his chest.  
  
"Fire in the hole!" I heard a voice shout from the trees.  
  
The ill-fated man's chest exploded on him. All of a sudden, thirty men revealed themselves to me from the front grounds alone. From the roof jumped an agile man in his late twenties.  
  
"Julien?!"  
  
"Remy, Remy, Remy. When are you gonna learn? The assassins always have a backup. That guy was Gilles Thibodaux with plastic surgery. So, I see your dressed in the armour of your own Guild," Julien drawled.  
  
"Damn Skippy."  
  
From a hip holster, Julien drew a Glock and started shooting at my feet.  
  
"Stop it, Julien! Leave Mon Cheri' Amour alone!" A feminine voice called out.  
  
"Damn, don't tell me...."  
  
I turned to see the blonde bombshell Belladonna.  
  
"Tanpri, Remy Enttiene. did you really expect to get away from me that easily?" she asked.  
  
"Belle, you're the blood-sucking tick of my life. The more I tug to get away, the more attached you become," I told her.  
  
With a look of indignance, she jumped down from the roof. The Assassins began to surround me. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a deck of cards. Holding twenty-six in each hand, I charged them all and let loose. The scattering explosion was huge. I took the bought time and went off to the back.  
  
Sixty emerged from the pool alone. From the trees and undergrowth came about eighty more. I heard an audible "snikt" and some familiar screams.  
  
"Wolverine! I told you to stay in the Danger Room!"  
  
"Couldn't help it kid! Saw what was happening to ya. Then, some of these bastards tried to get in. Some succeeded. Don't worry, Gambit. We'll take them," Logan said, trying to reassure me.  
  
"Bonne chance, mon ami," came Julien's voice.  
  
I whipped out my Bo staff again. The tip extended until it knocked Julien's chin upwards. And he was on the roof again. I was near the pool. I had all the attachments on it, though. I moved the staff until it slapped against Julien's face, knocking him off of the roof, only to be caught by another assassin.  
  
"These guys don't mess around, do they?" Logan asked me.  
  
I shook my head. I retracted my staff, then extended it to another man's chest. I put my index finger on the tip facing me, and sent a charge through the staff, and charging the man's shirt. I pulled the staff back and slammed another man in the face with it.  
  
"Logan watch my back!" I said.  
  
He nodded. I ripped off my trench coat and all non-revealing articles of clothing until I stood there wearing nothing but my boxers and Thieves Guild pants.  
  
"Done stripping, Gumbo?" Logan asked.  
  
I sneered. My fingers and toes wiggled, and then my eyes began to glow. The air crackled with kinetic electricity. 


	9. Battle

An orange dome began to surround my body. The field spread outward, snathing up every inorganic thing possible. Julien, the rest of the Guild, and Logan all stood there, a dumbstruck look on their faces. I drew my arms back to my chest and the field died down about 15 feet. The Guild gave a sigh of relief. Then, I shot out my arms, screaming. The dome shot out forty feet all around, encasing many of Julien's men, charging their clothes and weapons.  
  
I had already made a clear judgment, so I stopped the dome before it got too close to the mansion. It finally dawned on Wolverine that was going to be suicide. He grabbed me by the chest and flung me far, far away. The instant I was gone, the dome exploded. The mansion was hit hard with dozens of bodies, organs hanging out. At the last minute, knowing the nature of my "gifts", Julien hauled his ass away.  
  
Wolverine threw me my discarded outer garments.  
  
"Do you have a death wish?! No, wait, I don't want to know. Look, just come with me. There must still be about sixty waiting out front and two dozen in the mansion. I figured out what was with you and the Danger Room. We're gonna lure them in, right?" Wolverine asked me.  
  
I nodded noiselessly.  
  
"Good. Then let's go."  
  
We both retreated to the mansion, making sure that the Guild followed us. I ran by the front, and made sure the brown tip of my coat could be seen, drawing them in. I drew my knife for protection.  
  
Several Assassins jumped in front of us while we cut through the kitchen. The "snikt" of Wolverine's claws did little to scare them. I extended my staff into one's face, swung the end of it around and caught two more, while Wolverine gutted the others.  
  
Logan cocked his head in the direction of the driveway.  
  
"Shit....We don't have much time. The crew's only half a mile away. We gotta hurry."  
  
We finally made it to the danger room, and the Assassins were waiting. Wolverine made it up to the spire and turned it on to my setting.  
  
"Julien, you got a lotta balls coming here. This place is set for a lethal attack on fifteen Alpha-class mutants. You couldn't even last on level one, Julie. This is the end. This is it. Goodbye," I said, waving.  
  
I brought out my Bo staff in one hand, and a deck of cards in my breast pocket. I smiled. A metal tentacle with twenty-foot claws slammed down between us. A laser shot down twelve assassins. That's right. One beam. To my surprise, Julien was holding his own with the tentacle. For a couple of minutes.  
  
"Need an Ace of Clubs, monsieur?" I asked him, like I did once with Angel.  
  
The charged Ace flew into the claws that held him fast.  
  
"NOOO!"  
  
The explosion blew the metal to hell. Julien lay there, unconscious.  
  
I left him behind and drew six knives, one in between each two fingers, charged them, and threw them at the Guild Lackeys. There were only forty left, now. Jesus. "Just forty". I know how to stay upbeat, non?  
  
"Crank it up, Logan!"  
  
Steel orbs flew from the walls, and when the men thought that they had ducked beneath them, spikes shot out, ripping all of their backs. The stainless steel-adamantium of the room seemed rusted by all of the blood pools.  
  
One idiot tried rushing me with an old-school European sword that must've weighed fifty-gajillion pounds. I caught it in my hand as he swung, charged the blade, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him away.  
  
"It's just me and you, Bordrouex. What do you say we have a little prison party? I know it's been a while since you've been," I told him for the sole purpose of riling him up. I'm not gay. Believe me, you'd know if I was gay.  
  
"Shut up LeBeau!"  
  
(this next part was actually said to Sabretooth in the comix, but we can forgive such an author as myself, non?)  
  
I whipped out my staff.  
  
"Every part of the man I used to be says I should push my Bo staff through your thick skull. But the problem with that is that it would be exactly what you want! Bes way to beat you down, Bordruex, ain't to beat you up. I worked too hard, care too much about being here, learning how to love for real, and being an X-Man to let a loser like you take it away from me. So, I know the best way to win the fight against you and your brood is for me and Rogue to be happy to each other."  
  
Julien spit on my boots. I grabbed his collar and pulled his face to mine.  
  
(this part was from the old cartoon)  
  
"I told this to your sister: I'm not a Thief, or an Assassin. I'm an X-Man, and I'm never coming back."  
  
I threw him across the room, to the door.  
  
"I'll be back, Rem."  
  
"GET OUT!"  
  
The Ace of Spades fluttered near his ear, and he got the hell out of dodge. Then Xavier, Jean and Scott, and Hank strolled in. Scott carried what looked to be... a female body.  
  
"We found her in the craterous war zone that I used to call my backyard. She was calling for you, Remy. Care to explain?"  
  
I took her from Scott.  
  
"Not now, Hank."  
  
I stroked the girl's cheek.  
  
"You only used to do that when you were worried about me, chere. What's wrong, Remy Etienne?" she asked me.  
  
"Could you guys leave us a moment?!" I asked.  
  
They nodded. I took her hand.  
  
"Nothing, Belle. Ain't nothing wrong, chere. and soon it'll be all over."  
  
She wrapped her arms around my neck lovingly.  
  
"Love ya, chere."  
  
"I love you, too, mon petit belle femme amour," I told her.  
  
Belladonna pulled my face closer for a goodbye kiss. I followed suit, and when I felt her lips go cold, I pulled away and passed my hand over her glazed-over eyes, closing them.  
  
"How could you?" Rogue asked from the doorway. 


	10. Family Bits

"How could you?!"  
  
Rogue stormed off, boots clanking loudly. I rested Belladonna's body on the floor and ran outside.  
  
"Chere! Chere, wait! Come back! Aw, shit... Son of a bitch! Julien! Julien, come back!" I called out.  
  
As I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, he dropped from the ceiling.  
  
"You rang, pig-dog? Wait, what the hell?" he asked, seeing his sister.  
  
"She-she's dead, Julien."  
  
"I can see that!"  
  
"It's my fault, homme, I'll take the blame..."  
  
"You're damn right it's your fault! wait.... no, it's my fault. I should've never let her come here," he said, trying to hold back tears.  
  
"Look, I'm your brother by marriage, like it or not. We'll go through this together. Shit... What happened to us, Julien? Be-before you killed Henri...."  
  
"We used to be friends? Yeah, I know. The Three Musketeers, non?"  
  
"Damn Skippy, homme."  
  
"I wanna tell you something. I never wanted to kill Henri. We were best friends before you were officially adopted by Jean-Luc. Then it was a threesome-"  
  
I began to laugh at Julien's terminology.  
  
"Shut up, Rem. Anyway, we were together until we all turned eighteen. We all became official members of our own guilds. As my initiation, I had to kill Henri. He was considered a threat. Jesus, what a fucked up life we live, non?"  
  
"Life is random. It'll deal you a full house or a busted flush."  
  
"You always used to say that. Anyway, I guess that wedding drove the wedge even deeper, eh?"  
  
"Yeah... Look, call and tell me when the funeral's gonna be. I'll be sure to make it down to the bayou. Count on it, mon frere."  
  
"Wow, Remy Etienne, 'mon frere'? You hardly ever throw that around. Only to important people in your life... Anyway, you'll definitely get a call. But it might not be for months. You know the Assassin's Guild bylaws (I'm basing this on a Buddhist funeral so that it won't get in the way of the plotline any more than it already has)."  
  
I grabbed his forearm and he grabbed mine in the fashion of our Guilds, meaning that a deal was sealed. He waived a farewell, taking his sister with him. I threw up the horns, my way of saying "farewell" from when we were kids. He laughed and disappeared.  
  
"Gotta go find Rogue..."  
  
I ran into Lance, making the foundation quake with his anger.  
  
"Sorry, homme."  
  
I found the girl sitting in the rec room, watching a movie.  
  
"What the hell is this, chere? Rosemary's Baby?" I asked.  
  
If looks could kill, I'd be dead where I stand. That was a very cold and poisonous look, brought out even scarier from the makeup.  
  
"Go away, Remy," she hissed.  
  
"Aaaaaaw damn...." I thought to myself.  
  
"Chere.... Rogue. We have to talk."  
  
"Didn't look like you were doing a lot of talking with that tramp in the Danger Room."  
  
My blood began to boil, but I cooled myself down. I sat on the couch with her.  
  
"Rogue... I don't know if you knew, but that was the girl that was at the restaurant. Her name's Belladonna Bordrouex. Well, now it's Belladonna LeBeau-" I started.  
  
"She was your wife?! Jesus, maybe you're the tramp."  
  
"Look, chere. It was an arranged wedding. I loved her yes, but not enough for marriage. I blew up the altar, and ran away. That's when I was hired by Magneto. I had nothing better to do and the pay was good. Anyway, I knew that I would never be rid of them, but it was nice to dream. My past caught up with me four times. Once while on a mission for Maggie, the second was when you and me ran into Julien in New Orleans during Mardi Gras; the third was at the restaurant, and the fourth was now. I just want you to know the whole deal before you start back again."  
  
"I thought you loved me..."  
  
"I do, Rogue, honest I do. But that was my wife, and I loved her too."  
  
"Wait, 'loved'? Past tense?"  
  
"She just died, Rogue! That kiss was a final goodbye!"  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"I hope you're happy."  
  
"Don't say it like that, Remy." By now she was hanging on my arm.  
  
"I-I just don't know what I'm going to do," I told her, and wrapped my arms around her.  
  
"What keeps you going? Your life is so full of misery!"  
  
"Joie de vivre, chere. Joie d vivre." 


	11. Underground

X-Men, meet me in the War Room immediately! came the telepathic voice of Charles Xavier.  
  
The guy got us out of bed at three a.m. Good professor my ass. We were all still wearing our p.j.s, mostly sports jerseys and stuff like that for the guys, and cute pajama stuff for the girls. Especially what Kitty, Rogue, and Ororo had on. Mmm! Whoops, I'm sidetracking.  
  
"We have been doing extensive research, and learned something about our former X-Man, Spyke," The professor said.  
  
Murmurs of awe went through the crowd of students.  
  
"That said, we have contemplated that with Evan's advancing of his powers, this may be a very different strand of the Virus. It is much slower. See, Evan's powers began spiraling out of control, a sign of the virus. But we believe it also caused him to go through a higher evolution. This evolution and new strand of the Virus may have caused him to go undetected. We have decided to bring him in for extensive research. The reason that we called you down is that we need somebody to go and gather Evan. By force, if necessary. We need to find out if he has the Virus, and if he does, if it is more vicious or not. So who's going?" Hank said.  
  
Ororo raised her hand immediately.  
  
"No, Storm. You are too attached to the boy and won't use the necessary force to bring him in," Charles told her.  
  
"I swear by the Goddess that I will cooperate to the fullest extent."  
  
"Well...."  
  
"Let her go, Charles. And while we're at it, I'm going, too," Logan said.  
  
I thought it over and decided to go with my newfound friend.  
  
"I will go as well."  
  
I looked over to see Piotr raising his hand.  
  
"Don't forget me."  
  
Kurt.  
  
What the hell, I thought to myself.  
  
"Me, too, mes amis."  
  
"Very well. Though.... I am not too sure about Kurt going. We're leaving ASAP, and tomorrow is a school day."  
  
"Please, Herr Hank? Let me go wiss zem!"  
  
"Fine... "  
  
"We must leave within a period of two hours. Archangel is coming as well, but keep him under control. He does have a grudge against the Morlocks, especially Callisto," Xavier warned us.  
  
We nodded.  
  
An hour later, Archangel came knocking. Jesus, he scared me. Especially that skin. Because this was skin and not fur, you know?  
  
His wings were retracted. For now. He looked at our "task force".  
  
"Let's go," he said.  
  
We went down to the sewers. It was chilly down here. We weren't wearing our Moira uniforms so that we could stay stealthy. I zipped up the front of my black trench.  
  
The Morlocks didn't know of my alliance with the X-Men, so I kept to the shadows. I watched Storm shudder with fear and not cold. I knew she didn't like enclosed spaces.  
  
"Not even enough room to fly in here..." she said, mainly to herself.  
  
Three large shapes loomed in front of us. All of a sudden, a subway train rocketed by, and the tunnel was full of Morlocks. I heard two very distinct noises nearby: a clunking of metal, and a sharp "snikt". I pulled out my Bo staff, preparing for the worst. The metallic whirring of the staff extending eased my nerves.  
  
"We need Evan."  
  
The words were un-minced and curt. Wolverine.  
  
"Can't do it," was a one-eyed woman's reply.  
  
"Get Evan out here, now, Callisto!" Archangel demanded.  
  
"So, Warren. Not one of the pretty people of the overworld, eh? How'd you get like that?" the woman now identified as Callisto asked, tracing a finger along Archangel's cheek.  
  
His wings jumped from their former relaxed and retracted state. He was pissed. Very intimidating.  
  
"Enough, Callisto."  
  
"Shut up, Ororo. Anyway, was it Apocalypse that changed you? I know it was. He took one of our own as one of his new Horsemen," Callisto said.  
  
"Apocalypse? Apocalypse?! I'll follow him to the ends of the earth until he breaths blood and rolls over, split--broken--FINISHED! Do not mention that name in my presence! Now. Get. Evan. Out. NOW!" Archangel yelled.  
  
The three Morlocks from before resurfaced.  
  
"This is Sunder."  
  
The largest banged a fist into his palm.  
  
"We're going to play my favorite game. It's called Thud." 


	12. Subterranean Morlock Fight Extravaganza

Piotr was thrown against the tunnel wall by the big man named Sunder.  
  
"Having fun playing Thud yet?" he asked, almost childlike.  
  
"Nyet."  
  
I was still lurking in the shadows, waiting for Wolverine's signal. A man with yellow skin and a scraggly goatee popped up next to me. Mind you, he was Asian, but this wasn't Asian yellow. More like a yellow-green.  
  
"Who are you? Chameleon man?" I asked him.  
  
His lip curled up into a snarl, but restrained himself. He brought out some sort of spray-can, and I knocked it out of his hands with my Bo staff. He got into a boxing position.  
  
"The name's Facade."  
  
He had a good right hook. Rung my bell a bit, but not enough. I tripped him with my staff and thwapped him across the face to knock him out.   
  
I pulled back the sleeves of my trench coat. Strapped to each wrist was some sort of machine that Hank invented. It had a deck of playing cards in each machine. One card was sticking out, and every time you pulled a card out, it replaced, like a box of Kleenex. Ingenious, really. He even raided the New Recruit's rooms, looking for cards from those "trading card games" that everybody's into.   
  
He got a shit load from Jamie's room. He wasn't there to protest, non? Besides, his parents let us look through his stuff if we wanted something. I took a majority of his cards. Hank got the rest. Damn, I'm sidetracking again.  
  
From each machine, I pulled three cards. I lit them all up, and Wolverine finally sent the signal.  
  
"Hey Sunder! Wanna see a card trick?" I shouted. It took him by surprise.  
  
The six cards slammed into his body, exploding on impact. This gave Colossus enough time to react, regaining the upper hand. I returned to the shadows, waiting for my turn again, hoping that the other Morlocks thought that one of the other X-Men threw the cards.  
  
Archangel was knocked out, and Callisto threatened to kill him if the X-Men didn't surrender. They nodded and some Morlocks tied them each to a pole.  
  
"Hey, we got some cable here that even Big Sunder couldn't even break. Should be strong enough for that big fella," one Morlock yelled out.  
  
What they didn't know was that Colossus was pulling his punches, so as not to hurt the Morlocks.  
  
"Release me, Callisto, and get Evan out here!" Storm shouted.  
  
"I shall only release you to fight to the death. For leadership."  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Shit!" I said under my breath.  
  
"I can see in the dark, Gambit! That and Caliban senses you! you might as well come out of hiding!" Callisto called out to me.  
  
I stepped into the dim light. Two Morlocks tied me to a pole, and I put up no struggle, knowing how easy it would be for me to get free, but I decided I'd rile them up a bit.  
  
"You know, this is kinda sexy..."  
  
"Shut up, Gambit!" Kurt said.  
  
"Fine, fine, fine."  
  
The ropes glowed for a second and disintegrated. Callisto stared in shock, but then shrugged and pulled out a knife.  
  
"Gambit?" Storm asked.  
  
I looked at her.  
  
"Are you kidding me? I've got twenty different types of knives. Take your pick," I said, opening up my coat to reveal hundreds of items that one might need.  
  
"Jesus, kid, what are you? The Hustler?" Wolverine asked from his pole.  
  
"If only," I said, referring to the magazine.  
  
Storm picked out a butterfly knife with an eight-inch blade. She cracked it open with more expertise than I'd seen in most members of the Assassins Guild.  
  
"Let's do this, Callisto." 


	13. Another Death

To let you guys know, the Fight in the Morlock tunnels actually happened in the comix, minus Gambit. They were in the late 160s, early 170s. Gambit didn't appear till 266. I have the two issues, just can't remember what they are.  
  
_________  
  
I watched the two women, Storm and Callisto, duke it out in the Tunnels.  
  
"Sam! Sam, stop fooling around, you little hillbilly!" I said into my vidcom on my wrist.  
  
The kid's home-spun, country boy face appeared really close to the screen.  
  
"Wutcha want? Why are you interrupting our story telling?"  
  
"Shut up, Sam, and get the professor!"  
  
"Hey, wait, why don't you tell them that there thing that you told at that whatchamacallit?"  
  
"Sam... You just ended a sentence with nine prepositions," I told him.  
  
"He's an over-achiever!" I heard Bobby's voice call out.  
  
"I don't know about what all you two was talking about, but tell 'em!"  
  
"Just get the god-damned professor!" I yelled.  
  
"Fine..."  
  
Xavier's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Hey-uh... Well, Storm and Callisto are fighting to the death, Profex!"  
  
"Gambit, I have told you time and time again. My name is not 'Profex'. It is Professor Charles Xavier. And I knew this roustabout would commence."  
  
"You a precog now, homme?"  
  
"No. You could call it a hunch. But you must stop the fight before it becomes serious. And what of Evan?"  
  
"That's what they're fighting about!"  
  
"That does pose as a problem...."  
  
"Thanks for the report, Captain Obvious."  
  
"I'll dismiss that comment, because I believe it is born of stress."   
  
"Um... Gotta go, homme!"  
  
I clicked off the little machine and sped off for the Tunnels.  
  
Callisto had made a knife-thrust, but Storm dodged it nimbly, and wrapped her cape around Callisto's arm, forcing free the knife that was so kept so tightly in her grasp. The Morlock leader responded with a fist to Storm's bottom jaw. Storm twisted the move into her own fluid motion, and sent my knife careening into Callisto's chest.  
  
"I believe the Morlocks follow me now, Callisto."  
  
The former leader spit at Storm's feet, and threw the knife back to her, still dripping with blood from her chest. Callisto staggered into a deeper part of the tunnels, two Morlocks accompanying her. She was midway in, when she took off a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off to Storm.  
  
"A symbol of your leadership among the Morlocks..."  
  
Storm took the jacket, put it on, and turned to her subjects.  
  
"Take me to Evan."  
  
"Forgive us for not telling you, Storm, but Evan has died. This is why we were hesitant in leading you to him. We feared that you would wreak havoc upon us. He has been gone for a week now. You may have his body if you please," a Morlock said timidly.  
  
Ororo blinked back tears, sniffed, and swallowed hard.  
  
"Y-yes, w-w-we'll take it back with us," Storm said, nodding.  
  
A limp form was brought out from the tunnels by a small girl with large hands. The body was Daniels, alright. He was missing a shirt. The other X-Men looked shocked. From what I understand, Spyke eventually lost control of his power, and was covered in spikes. I never saw him that way, though.  
  
Colossus took the body, cradling it like a baby. Storm was flooded with tears, and you could see the streams running through Nightcrawler's fur. Steel can't cry, but the look on Colossus's face showed that he wanted to. As soon as I though this, he shifted down into human form, with tears streaking his face. I could shed none, seeing as I had known the kid. Colossus hadn't either, but... well... he's Colossus. Instead. I stood there, looking solemn and respectful. Wolverine didn't cry, either.  
  
****  
  
This was getting ridiculous. The Legacy Virus had to be stopped. Pyro. Multiple. Evan. And it would soon be Ilyana and Lance. The Virus was getting out of hand, and right then, in the van, I wondered if anything would ever be done to stop it... 


	14. One Man's Sacrifice

It had finally happened. Ilyana died at midnight on a Wednesday. The senior X-Men (myself, Piotr, Wolverine, Jean, Scott, Ororo, Hank, Erik, and sometimes Kurt and Rogue) had gone on a mission. Piotr never even got a chance to say good-bye. Myself? I was sitting in Piotr's room with the him, Kitty, and Rogue.  
  
"Do you think that there's a God?" Rogue asked, almost childlike. The death was taking a strange toll on her.  
  
"Fer shure."  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Mine and the other two's response came simultaneously. They looked at me, curious (AN: In the comix, it seems as if Remy is either Atheist or non-religious, so, these are not my views. The only time he ever uses religious sayings is when he quotes things).  
  
"Why not, Rem?" Kitty asked me.  
  
"Look, the way I see it is.... You see, I've been living this rough life from the beginning. From what I can understand, there might be someone up there watching us, but he's never done anything for me. Life is random. It can deal you a full house or a busted flush. Especially with this god-damned Legacy Virus. Religion just has never had anything to offer me."  
  
The others were stunned. There was a awkward silence for a few minutes.  
  
Hank's voice came over the intercom in the hall, "Senior X-Men, report to the War Room immediately. That is all."  
  
When we arrived, Jean and Scott were waiting.  
  
"What is this all about?" Ororo asked.  
  
"The Professor and I probed your minds to see about new costumes. All of you except for Gambit, because of his own psi-blocking abilities. We knew that you didn't like the old ones, so we had Moira create the costumes you wanted with the specs of the Blue and Gold. I hope these are to your liking."  
  
(check out these costumes at the Beyond Evolution site)  
  
Wolverine got his second costume, the one without the mask, returned to him.   
  
Jean's was a sleeveless version of the New Recruits costume, but with her old headdress, yellow gloves, yellow "X" belt, and gold boots.   
  
Piotr had on an immense black sleeveless shirt, black military pants, huge black combat boots, gloves with steel belts in the shape of a capital "H" or capital "I", depending on how you looked at it. Along with that was a shoulder "X" belt connecting to a waist belt with the "X" insignia upon the center.  
  
Scott's was basically the same concept, save the huge boots and gloves. He had on smaller combats, a black tee, a "y" shaped belt that connected to a belt on the waist, and yellow fingerless gloves, and the whole thing was set off by the ubiquitous visor.  
  
Storm's seemed like her old, except with a headdress like mine. I'm blushing, chere, I really am.  
  
We were going to Scotland. Half into the Blackbird (Me piloting, Erik, Piotr, Charlie, and Scott), the other half into the Velocity. The flight was very long. And very boring. Only because I probably have Adult ADD. Cant's sit still for more than twenty minutes. I had to put the plane on autopilot and wander around.  
  
When the plane finally touched down, the island was torn apart. There were flames burning everywhere. The research facility was burned to the ground. A blue, fleeting figure was seen running from the compound, toting what seemed to be a large gun. It dawned on me.  
  
"Mystique!" I shouted.  
  
I used Hank's invention and drew six cards, charged them all, and threw them at the carrot-topped seductress.  
  
"No! Stop!" Kurt shouted.  
  
Luckily for him, she flipped out of the way and booked. Beast began to leap after her, but Xavier stopped him.  
  
"No, Hank. Forget it."  
  
All of a sudden, his hands flew to his temples, and he looked pained.  
  
"Moira was shot and mortally wounded by Mystique, looking for things concerning the Virus. I'm guessing she was trying to release it onto the human population. Before she died, she sent me a mind-message telling me where the formula for the Cure was located."  
  
We all nodded. Magneto hovered into the rubble with Beast, Colossus, and myself. We all began to move the destruction around, looking for anything that was salvageable. As I charged a large piece of concrete, I heard a muffled cry of help. Moira. Beast and Colossus picked up the huge slab, and I grabbed her and passed her over to Storm.  
  
"Somebody....Somebody....has to d- has to d-" she began. Her voice began to fade.  
  
I grabbed her shoulders.  
  
"Somebody has to what?! Has to what?! Decide? Drive? Destroy? Drink? What the hell?!" I badgered.  
  
Beast put a restraining hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Gambit! Enough!"  
  
Magneto took off his helmet and floated towards us.  
  
"Somebody has to die." he said.  
  
We all looked at him, dumbfounded.  
  
"I found her journal. It has everything in it. But that big catch. Somebody has to die. A mutant living without the Legacy Virus. One injection will save every mutant on this planet," Magneto said with a sigh.  
  
"Shit!" I said out loud.  
  
Colossus was looking thoughtful. I knew what he was thinking, so I extended the psi-block over his own mind as well. We all went back to our respective vehicles, and I told Scott to pilot this time. I went over and sat next to Piotr when we all got buckled in. I leaned over and caught his attention.  
  
"Hey Pete!"  
  
"Da?"  
  
"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, 'cause I patched my own psi-block over your head as well so that the Prof doesn't try to stop you. I'm not condoning the idea, but I'm not saying you shouldn't either. As cowardly as I am, I'd still do it. I'm not behind you 100%, but I got your back. I won't tell anybody," I whispered.  
  
"I know. You always did have my back when we were working with Magneto. Like the time you stopped me from killing him in Egypt (see Impact) I figured you to have my back now. I don't think that anybody else will understand. Thank you, Tovarisch."  
  
I nodded. Then, I crawled out of my current seat and made it to another, and passed out. When we got back to the US, we had to make a pit stop in New Orleans. When we got there, I jumped up and down on the soil, kissed the ground, and scooped some up and put it into a bowl.  
  
"Good ole N'y'awlins earth."  
  
After we picked up some fuel and such, we headed back for New York. We were greeted with a warm reception up North, and I made the announcement.  
  
"We got the cure!" I said over the PA system of the school.  
  
I heard the school erupt into a frenzy of cheering and all manner of such things, and groggy groans of waking teens, woken in the wee hours of the night. Hank shook his head. He told me not to get their hopes up, but I didn't listen. Rogue rushed in, wrapped her arms around my waist, and kissed me on my headdress. I kissed her back on the top of her head. When she left, Hank needed to have a little "talk" with me.  
  
"Remy, pardon my language, but what the *hell* were you doing?!"  
  
"Look, Hank, it's best not to dampen their spirits with all of this suicidal bullshit!"  
  
"Well, I've found in my experience that it's easier to tell the truth!"  
  
"What experience, Hank?! A buncha little kids in a bullshit high-school science class?!"  
  
"That is where you crossed the line, LeBeau! I'll have you know that I did not go through eight-"  
  
"Enough! If you would please take your childish squabbling outside! We have enough children at the Institute as it is, and we don't need two men of your age fighting like little boys!" Erik scolded.  
  
Hank's head drooped low, but I held my head high, not willing to be put down by any man. I motioned to Piotr and the two of us went outside. After buttoning my coat, I pulled out a cigarette and began puffing away.  
  
"You're gonna have to take a risk tonight, Pete," I told him.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I can't extend the psi-block when I'm asleep. Profex tested it."  
  
"How?" Piotr asked.  
  
"He made me extend it to Kurt once, and he couldn't get in. Then, when I was sleeping, I couldn't extend it."  
  
"But Charles also once said that psychic links are stronger with friendship. We are friends, aren't we?"  
  
"You got me there, homme."  
  
"From what Beast was saying on the plane, he could have it done within the week. Good deal, no?"  
  
"That's very true, mon ami."  
  
We stood there, leaning against the brick wall in silence for a while. When I finished my cig, I went back inside.  
  
"Hey Hank!" I yelled aloud in the quiet mansion.  
  
Kurt teleported in front of me with a precautionary finger over the lips, and 'ported me to Hank.  
  
"Why useth thine vocal cords so loudly, O ye man of kineticism what charmeth the female of our own species?" Hank asked in thespian form.  
  
"A man quoting the classics is a man after my own heart," I said jokingly.  
  
"Don't worry, I wasn't. You read the classics?" he asked me.  
  
"Nope, just like to hear them quoted."  
  
He shook his head and laughed.  
  
"What is it that you need, Remy?" he asked.  
  
"It's more of an idea than a need. I've been thinking-" I began.  
  
"With your brain and not your 'lower regions'? That's a first," he interrupted.  
  
"Ahem! Now, as I was saying, I have a suggestion about the cure victim."  
  
"They wouldn't be a victim, but, anyway, what pray tell might your suggestion be?" Hank asked.  
  
"First, we go to the Tunnel. Then, we find the most pitiful-looking Morlock down there. We stick him with the needle, and nobody would ever know."  
  
"That, my bayou-surfing swamp rodent of Louisiana (AN: notice how I don't use the over-played "swamp rat"), is a good plan-"  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
"A-a-ah! Let me finish," he said, wagging a shaggy blue finger.  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Now, it is a good plan. In theory. But, in reality, where the people with sense live, that plan would go over like a lead balloon. In actuality, Storm would find out and kill us both before we could pin the blame upon each other," Beast said matter-of-factly.  
  
"But if we used some ribbon and a box of dried tuna-"  
  
"Remy! Enough! And stay out of my pain pills!"  
  
"My chest still hurts!"  
  
"No it doesn't."  
  
"Goddamnit, LeBeau, give me those painkillers! Now get some sleep. It's almost dawn."  
  
I reluctantly handed him my orange bottle. To tell the truth, I can't remember past my Morlock plan, but Beast filled me in. Him and security cameras. Goddamned painkillers. I stopped by Piotr's room on the way back. He was painting again. Beautiful but dark picture. Lots of blacks and reds. Gloomy indeed.  
  
"What's up?" I asked him.  
  
"Nyet, Remy, I wish to be alone."  
  
I nodded and left, closing the door. I wandered around a bit, and then went to bed. I woke up the next day with a new idea and proposed it to Hank.  
  
"Hank! I have an idea."  
  
"On what, pray tell?"  
  
"Virus cure. If we got a few more heads in studying-"  
  
"Enough! I've heard more than enough of your asinine plans and ideas!"  
  
"Goddamnit, Hank! If we could just call someone like Reed Richards or- Oh, shit!" I felt my mental link with Piotr tugging at my soul.  
  
I put a communicator to my mouth and spoke.  
  
"Now, Wolverine!" He was the only one I had told of Piotr's plan.  
  
I bounded away, leaving Hank dumbfounded, and he tried to follow. We all got there in time to see Piotr pick up the huge needle containing the Legacy Virus Cure. We started banging on the window, and he smiled at us. I regretted keeping silent about his plan. He was wearing his Acolytes uniform; guess he wanted to go out in glory. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail and looked to the sky.  
  
"I can not stand by for even one more hour, knowing somewhere, someone else's little sister is dying from this disease! Snowflake, I am coming home..." he said in Russian. I know because of our link.  
  
I watched him plunge the needle into his chest, and immediately, he turned into Colossus one final time. 


End file.
